The Consequences of Cultural Misrepresentation in Education

"There never were in the world two opinions alike, no more than two hairs or two grains; the most universal quality is diversity."-  Michel de Montaigne

One of America’s most celebrated qualities is its increasing diversity. Since the year 2000, the diversity rate of the country has steadily increased and continues to rise. And since then, the quality of education and representation for people of color has been almost entirely stagnant. This insufficient growth in educational standards risks having a majority of students grow up uneducated on diverse cultures, leading to a lack of empathy and sensitivity towards peers and other people. For a country with an identity that rests almost entirely on the culmination of diverse cultures, its representation towards people of color remains inadequate.

To understand the problem, it is important to understand what a lack of cultural representation looks like in a classroom setting. While it may seem obvious what misrepresentation looks like, what you might not realize is that the root of the issue starts at the very beginning of an educational journey. Think back to elementary school as your teacher sits you down in a circle to read you a story. How often have you seen a person of color be portrayed as the main character in one of these picture books? A metastudy of children’s books that are read in classrooms indicate that a majority of main characters ranging from fifty to ninety percent are white. Characters that represent African American, Indigenous, and people of color make up to 10 percent (or less) of main characters in children’s books. In addition to the miniscule amount of representation, researchers also identified problematic portrayals in children's books when depicting people of color. Some patterns of misinformation include mixing elements of differing Indigenous cultures or inaccurate/incomplete portrayals of historical events regarding people of color. 

These years of elementary school are extremely formative of a person's social perspective. Rudine Sims Bishop originally popularized the concept of “mirrors and windows” in education. Mirrors are places in education where a child can make connections with stories and feel more seen. Windows represent exposure to new ideas and cultures for students to understand and empathize with. The lack of “mirrors” in the early years of a child's life will lead to the internalization of feeling unimportant which can carry forward throughout a person’s entire life. A lack of “windows” is also bound to reflect negatively later in life as students fail to recognize the normalcy of different cultures. Children's learning that only properly represents a white majority will lead to minority students feeling unimportant and majority students learning to treat them as such in a “two-way street” according to Alber. 

And for the future of these students, this treatment is problematic. 

Researchers at Northwestern University popularized the concept of  “cultural mismatch,” which refers to the tension and conflict that students feel when their culture at home does not match the representation of their culture they experience at home. Cultural mismatch leads students to have a disrupted attentional focus, or attention span and simultaneously reinforces misrepresented “stereotypes” for students of color. Research in the Journal of Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology also finds that this tension causes students to feel more hesitant to take roles and opportunities outside of what they view is the social “norm” for their culture, a viewpoint that perpetuates current educational inequities. 

Now what do students gain from a classroom that provides proper representation? Classrooms with a diverse ethnic background are statistically more efficient and more likely to collaborate, increasing their academic achievement, according to research. These examples of early academic success are reflected when these students are introduced to the workforce. With diversity across the world increasing, a successful student will need to be able to work with individuals from incredibly diverse backgrounds. Proper representation and classroom engagement will let these students gain the skills needed for a workforce that demands global awareness and cultural sensitivity. Diverse classrooms often promote a sense of equity and empathy, highlighting interpersonal skills among students. Classrooms with proper representation allow students to feel valued and seen. Research also indicates that this boost in self-esteem will allow students to participate in increasingly meaningful discussions effectively, improving overall speaking skills, leading to increased academic involvement. 

At Orlando Book Bank, we work to distribute a variety of resources to encourage discouraged students to participate. These resources, including multiple book drives and a mentorship program,  help students succeed academically. Alongside this, to avoid cultural misrepresentation, members of Our Stories Orlando help introduce a culturally diverse curriculum in schools. Together, we strive to ensure students have an education that is inclusive and empowering while being representative of the community we serve.